Zalgiris from Kaunas defeated Gargzdaija in the first round of the Lithuanian basketball league with a score of 107:55.
The Lithuanian champions set the tone right from the start with a 10-2 run to open the game. The lead for Kazys Maksvytis‘ team quickly reached a double-digit margin. Gargzdaija couldn’t respond to the near-perfect shooting performance by the visitors (23/25 from the field), and after the first 10 minutes, the score was 34:16.
By the end of the first half, the home team managed to score only 7 points, compared to Zalgiris’ 21, making this game practically decided with a +32 lead going into halftime.
The guests didn’t let off the gas pedal in the second half. Newcomers in the “green” team, Brady Manek, Naz Mitrou-Long, and Danielius Lavrinovicius, used these minutes to showcase themselves on their competitive debut.
In the third quarter, there was a 25:14 advantage for the visitors, and they closed out the last quarter with “only” a nine-point lead for an impressive +52 overall. The talented Dovydas Butka also got a chance in this game. Born in 2003, he made his debut for Zalgiris’ first team and scored four points.
Brady Manek was the top scorer for Zalgiris with 23 points, followed by Arnas Butkevicius and Edgaras Ulanovas with 13 points each. Jaylon Scott stood out for Gargzdaija with 18 points.
Zalgiris will play its next two games as part of a preparatory tournament, where they will face Olympiacos and Crvena Zvezda.